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Reflections From BamfieldMy experience at Bamfield was really informative and educational. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the trip and how fast it went by. One of my favorite things was being on the boats and the whale watching because even though we didn't see much we still got to see the coast, islands and all sea and animal life I couldn't see anywhere else. Also on the boats we did tests with cool devices that tested the sea density and the water depth and plankton. Taking the plankton under the microscopes was interesting because you can see tiny living things not visible with your eyes and I thought it was cool. On the other days we also did really fun activities where we got to do paintings on t-shirts that we could keep as memories. Something we did was do a scavenger hunt with our friends and find wild plants and animals on Brady's Beach. I thought making up a song with my group was also fun. Overall Barfield was a great grade seven experience. Jaila

The second annual student council conferenceBy: NickolasThe student council conference was great. Twelve schools from our Catholic system attended the conference, and we had schools from North Burnaby all the way to South Surrey. The conference was held on February 3rd, and the location of the conference was our Saint Helens gymnasium. We hope we can continue having the conference here at Saint Helens.The student council conference is a meeting where different schools come together to share and get ideas. We did lots of fun stuff at the conference we played a mercy building game called mercyum. Our final product was a beautiful set of doors with hearts in the middle. We hope more schools can attend next year.

Say “NO” to BULLYING!By: Enzo, Ryan, Isabella

Have you ever wondered why everyone at your school wears pink on February 24? It’s because February 24 is Anti-Bullying Day. On Anti-Bullying Day, we wear pink clothing because a boy was bullied for wearing pink. The next day many other students wore pink to stand up to bullying. This is one of the many reasons we have Anti-Bullying Day. Everyone must be treated the same, no matter what happens. At our school, we have a Student Council. Yesterday the Student Council elected some students to wear an orange wrist band. At the end of the day the student council asked the people who wore the wrist band what had happened. Even though it was just an orange bracelet, they said their friends would not leave them alone. This was a social experiment done to see the effects of being different. And that is one of the many reasons people are bullied. Don’t be a bully, be a buddy! Stand up to bullying this Pink Day and every day.

The Problem with Lent….By: Isabella Many people for so long have been getting the purpose of lent wrong. Many Catholics think that Lent is about giving up chocolate or your phone but it’s not. Today I learned 3 big things about Lent! It is about “giving, giving up, and to give”. That means giving yourself to God, giving up something that is replacing your time with God, and to give time to those who need comfort. We do things also during Lent to make sure that they stick with us. We usually forget everything that we did during Lent once it is over. If we throw all of these things away, what have we gained? Lent is a time for meditation and prayer. Like my teacher says” it is like the playoffs then the big game is Easter.” We are preparing for Jesus’ death and then celebrating his Resurrection on Easter. During Lent we remember Jesus’ time in the desert. We Jesus’ was fasting he resisted temptation. That means that we Catholics should make a great effort to be close to God and strive for great acts of charity.

Proclaim Jesus with loving heartsWe should proclaim Jesus because everyone needs to know that Jesus is here and that He helped us get to the Promised Land. To get to the spiritual level to want to proclaim you have to let Jesus into your heart. A way to let Jesus into my heart and my life is by sitting closer to the altar during mass and singing the hymns. Also just really think about the gospel as Father reads it. Another great way is to take five, maybe, ten minutes out of your day to be silent and look around for Jesus, see if you can find the way He changed you and your life. Away you can proclaim Jesus with serving hands is to donate food and clothing to Missionaries so they can bring the food and clothes to people who need them and the Missionaries can bring it with a message, a message about God and Jesus. I think that it is important to proclaim because as I said earlier everyone should know that Jesus saved us. A good way to let Jesus into your heart is to go for a quiet walk of silence to see what God has made. Another way to proclaim Jesus with serving hands is to volunteer to help anyone. Thank you reading my write up about proclaiming Jesus.

Carlo

We should proclaim Jesus with loving hearts because we are called by God to be the hands of Christ. We can proclaim Jesus by telling people who ask about him why Jesus is so great and why we are so happy to be Catholic.A great example of proclaiming Jesus with loving hearts would be one of the teachers here at Saint Helens. Miss Ruggier is very good at proclaiming Jesus and spreading the good news. She speaks of him like he is a good friend of hers. She truly has let Jesus in to her life. I can let Jesus in to my life, by thinking about what to say before I say it. I have to remember Jesus is in all of us, and that words cannot be taken back. I can also let Jesus into my life by paying closer attention to the readings in Mass. I can respond to all the things we are asked to respond to and by singing along with the songs more often I will get closer to Jesus.

Proclaiming Jesus is important because everyone should know Jesus saved us so that we can have eternal life. I can proclaim Jesus with serving hands. I can do this by helping feed the homeless downtown with the grade 7’s and by donating food and clothing to the less fortunate. I can also proclaim Jesus with serving hands when I sing with the choir. These are few ways to proclaim Jesus and grow closer to him and my faith.

Ryan

STELLA COMETA SOCIETY ​​An interview with Father BatistaOn October 29th the Grade 6 classes had a visit from Father Batista. Father Batista is the founder of Stella Cometa, which is an organization that does missionary work in Kenya. Their goal is to complete the Village of Mercy and to relieve poverty in the community of Kyumbi, Kenya. Father Batista is a missionary priest who has been serving in Africa since 1995. Father Batista founded Stella Cometa in 2005.

About Father BatistaFather Batista is quite a hero. He has been serving as the director of Stella Cometa for 10 years, but has been working in Africa for 20 years! Father Batista is definitely not a fan of war and wishes to stop it. In fact, unfortunately, on September 10th, 2003, he lost his finger due to being caught in a terrible war in Africa. Now, Father Batista has only four fingers on his left hand. Although he lost his finger, he is still participating as the founder and leader of Stella Cometa, and will not step down!

“Children are the future.” - Father Batista

What is Stella Cometa Up To?Stella Cometa was founded in 2005. One of Stella Cometa’s groups is Stella Cometa Vancouver. One of Stella Cometa’s goals is to build two dormitories in Kenya for disabled children. Father Batista’s biggest project is completing the Village of Mercy. It is a village that Father started a few years ago, and it is for many kids and adults in Kenya. Stella Cometa also provides education, women safe groups, help for disabled people, water and irrigation, farming (they provided plants and animals such as cows) and medical care in the Village of Mercy. An Interview with Father BatistaOn October 29th the Grade 6 classes had a visit from Father Batista. Father Batista is the founder of Stella Cometa, which is an organization that does missionary work in Kenya. Their goal is to complete the Village of Mercy and to relieve poverty in the community of Kyumbi, Kenya. Father Batista is a missionary priest who has been serving in Africa since 1995. Father Batista founded Stella Cometa in 2005.

The Village Of MercyIn the Village of Mercy, there is an orphanage with 21 kids so far. There is also a Stella Cometa Office Building for volunteers. Guests to the village, such as Father Batista, can stay in the Guest House. Father does weekly Masses in the Divine Mercy Sanctuary on top of a hill close to the Village of Mercy. There he provides Mass services so that the children and adults can strengthen their faith.Faustina

Father Batista was just outside of the Village of Mercy when he found little Faustina. When he found her, she was 5 years old, with no name and only weighed 5 kg (11 pounds)! Father Batista took her under his care and brought her to a hospital. He paid for her education and food, and she soon became known as Faustina. Now she is 10 years old and is now cared for and fed regularly as well as educated and happy.